*** This post was last edited May 2, 2017 ***
Good morning Community,
As I mentioned in a post two days ago, we have received the next firmware 2.0.10.20 from Hitron. We are currently running initial testing on this version and will push it out to participants in the firmware trial program as soon as it passes initial testing.
However, while running these tests, we discovered abnormal behavior with ICMP and are awaiting feedback from Hitron today to asses how this will be addressed. As soon as I this is confirmed, I’ll update the change log with the correct version information and start pushing it out.
In parallel, we are still working on the following high priority items. In some cases below, I requested affected customers to reach out to me via private message. If you do so, please include your modem MAC address in the subject line (even if we exchange messages daily) as there are a lot of you reaching out to me daily 🙂
UDP Packet Loss
The investigation for what has been reported as UDP packet loss is still ongoing. We have deployed a probe at one fellow forum member on both a CODA-4582 and a CGNM-3552 to collect additional data. We are actively working with Hitron and Intel on the results observed.
Based on what we know so far, in most instances UDP packet loss is coupled with higher uplink usage in the area. Although the impact is noticeable in specific logs (League of Legends), the root cause for the perceivable impact (while playing) is likely related to bufferbloat (see next issue).
Bufferbloat
When comparing the performance of a CODA-4582 to a CGNM-3552 in the same network conditions, the CODA-4582 consistently reports higher bufferbloat when tested on DSLReports.
Update April 12: The solution for this problem will come in two folds. It will require a change in software which will possibly be included in 2.0.10.27 but more likely in 2.0.10.28 and a change in network configuration.
The network configuration change is not compatible with the current firmware so this change will only come after a vast majority of the modems are running the new code. We are however looking at a way to make the change only for specific modems to support testing in the community.
Update April 22: This problem seems resolved in firmware 2.0.10.27
5 GHz WiFi Low range for channels 36 to 48
Lower WiFi channels on the modem have a much smaller range. This is due in part to the limit imposed by Industry Canada to maximum transmit power.
Furthermore, the current automatic channel selection (auto mode) tends to select the lower channels when in similar load conditions.
Workaround: manually select higher channels (149-153-157-161)
Update April 22: The channel selection algorithm has been improved in firmware 2.0.10.27
Loss of OFDM Channel Lock
Under some RF conditions, the modem fails to lock properly on the OFDM channel. This typically result in variable performance.
Update April 12: This problem is resolved in 2.0.10.26T2
List of connected device does not get fully populated
This is a known issue that has been tracked since firmware 2.0.10.13. We are making improvements at every firmware but it is not a perfect system.
The situation is worst after a reboot or firmware upgrade as the list gets reset and must be repopulated as devices renew their DHCP lease.
NAT Loopback not working for wired clients
When setting up port forwarding to an internal server, it is possible for a client on WiFi to reach the server using the external IP/port. If the client is on a wired interface, it doesn't work.
Update April 12: This problem is resolved in 2.0.10.26T2 (not confirmed)
LAN Counters not working
Some customers reported that LAN counters (especially in bridge mode) are reporting inaccurate values.
This problem has been reported to Hitron for investigation.
Unexpected modem reboot
Some customers reported their modem reboots unexpectedly. We have also seen this behavior in our lab.
Update April 12: This problem is resolved in 2.0.10.26T2
Missing SC-QAM Channels
After a reboot, some modems are missing SC-QAM channels. A fix has been implemented in 2.0.10.26T2 to address this behavior but it has not corrected all scenarios.
Investigation continues with Hitron.
WiFi Survey
The WiFi Survey functionality in firmware 2.0.10.26T2 (and possibly before) reports incorrect SSID names.
Guest Network
When connecting to the Guest Network, an error message is displayed "only allow DHCP client to use this wireless". This has been reported in firmware 2.0.10.26T2.
Update April 22: This issue has been resolved in firmware 2.0.10.27
Update May 2: It seems this issue is not fully resolved and still experienced by some users
Future Planned Improvements
The following are items that we are working on in parallel of the above.
- Improvement in WiFi speeds
- Improvement in latency / bufferbloat
Dave
*Edited Labels*
- last edited on by
RogersCilio
I had no issues getting proper speeds with my router. The day it was installed I was getting 720/20 on the .13 firmware. As soon as the modem updated to .19 it went south ever since. Had the modem updated to .20 on Tuesday and the speeds were perfect, was getting 890/20 all afternoon. Now for the last two days, terrible speeds. Housemates were calling me at work tonight saying the internet was at a crawl.
Connected straight to modem and the speeds are still garbage.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/5962686970.png
I have rebooted. I have factory reset. Still garbage speeds
I've had gigabit installed for 9 days now and I've had good speeds for all of a couple hours. Never had an issue with 250u. Can someone hasve a look at things for me. @RogersDave?
@amd7674 wrote:
Your Asus RT-N66U is too slow to handle 1GB speeds. I had to upgrade my n66u to Asus AC1900P (dula core CPU at 1.4Ghz) in order to handle 1GB speeds. I'm puzzled how you were getting 890/20... Perhaps run some tests without N66U in the picture.
@gcw23 wrote:
Received the .20 firmware this morning before heading to work. Did a couple speed tests and everything seemed like it was fine. Tried 4 or 5 servers and was getting around 890/20 which is a lot better than I was getting before around 300/2. Came home from work and ran a couple more tests, and the speed is terrible again.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/5959779331.png
Both were taken at 12:40am. Currently running in bridge mode, connected to an Asus RT-N66U.
@LF1949 did you by any chance have a router such as a D-Link DIR-655 or other older router in operation before you replaced the modem, and is it possibly still running? If so, then its probably been hacked, and if you used the same network name and password now with the new modem, the hacker still has access to the internet thru your wifi. If you used the same router password, then he or she also has complete access to your modem. That would be my best guess. Definitely not good news, and, its probably time to park that router depending on exactly what model it is. The same situation came up a couple of days ago.
So, the best thing to do is run a factory reset on the modem by using the recessed reset button at the back of the modem. Hold that down for 30 seconds and release it to initiate the factory reset. Depending on which modem you have, going to 192.168.0.1 to set up the modem, you will either see the older modem login, username and password where you use "cusadmin" and "password" or, you might see the new modem setup which forces you to select a password that is different from the word "password". Select a new password that is different from your previous password. For now, this becomes the modems password as well as the wifi network passphrase. These can be reset to different values as indicated below. This new modem setup also forces you to select the wifi network name at the very start. So, for now, assuming that you are using an ethernet connection, fill it with random characters for now. Both of those can be changed after logging back into the modem when the setup is complete.
Ok, so, when that is complete, navigate back to 192.168.0.1 and log in to the modem using "cusadmin" and your new password. First things first, navigate to WIRELESS .... BASIC SETTINGS. For the 2.4 Ghz disable the WPS function and save the settings. Select the 5 Ghz tab, disable the WPS function and save the settings. With that turned off, different network names and a different wifi and modem password, it should prevent the hacker from logging in while you complete the modem setup.
WPS is no longer secure, same with any form of TKIP for wifi security, and UPNP, which unfortunately is used to set port forwarding rules for applications and gaming. UPNP can be used by internet miscreants to change modem and router settings without your knowledge, so, leaving that enabled is a personal choice, one that has to recognize the dangers with it. I prefer to set the ports manually, if required so that I know what has been set and why.
Depending on your wifi requirements, you can turn off the 5 Ghz or complete the setup for the network. Select channels 149 or higher as they are allowed to transmit at 1 watt versus 50 or 200 milli-watts for the lower 5 Ghz channels. Leave the WPS function off. My personal recommendation for the network name is to randomize the name. That will prevent any hackers from using precomputed tables to hack your modem. That forces a hacker to use brute force, which can be done, but which requires multiple GPUs to accomplish and can take weeks or months, if ever. To do that, fill the entire entry window, which is 32 characters long. You rarely, if ever, have to enter the network name into any device. Usually its detected by the device and you then have to enter the wifi passphrase. So, food for thought, you can use the following site for random password/passphrase strings:
https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
If you refresh that page, it will generate new strings.
The Hitron modems may not allow some of the characters in the bottom random string. It depends on the modem that you have and its current firmware. Give that a try and see if the modem will save it. If not, try the next string up. Simply copy and paste the string into the network name.
Enter a passphrase as well, different from your previous password and at least 20 to 30 characters in length, preferably random. Use a phrase of some type that makes sense to you so that you will remember it, or store that somewhere that is easily accessible. If you were only running a laptop via wifi, you could also use the same procedure to generate a new random string and use that for the passphrase. With a laptop, its just a copy and paste for the passphrase as well, easy to do. Other devices are a pain when it comes to long random string entry, but, you won't change this very often if you decide to use a long random string.
The wifi encryption is a result of a hashing the network name and passphrase. The longer and more random each of these are, the more difficult it is to hack into a network. The purpose here is to make this more difficult the point where the hacker will leave you alone and choose an easier target to hack. Hacking into a network that uses common names and phrases for the network name and passphrase has become much easier with precomputed data files that are available thru the internet and can be used with a simple laptop. Randomizing both of those prevents anyone from using those precomputed files and forces them into the hardware world of using multiple GPUs which are typically found in video cards for their fast computational capability. This is a much more expensive and time consuming route to go.
For security settings, select WPA-2 only, for the Security Mode, and AES only for the Encrypt mode. Do not select TKIP only, or TKIP/AES combo mode as TKIP is not secure anymore.
Save the settings and run the same procedure for the 2.4 Ghz wifi. I use different network name for both on an Asus Router, so I don't remember if the Hitron modems will allow the same network name. From what we're seen in the past, I recommend using different network names for the 2.4 and 5 Ghz network. That way, you know exactly which network a device is using, and, this makes troubleshooting much easier, knowing which network is in use. Windows doesn't indicate which network is which if they both have the same network name. You have to drill down into the wifi network status to determine the transfer rate which then tells you which network is being used. So, its much simpler just to keep the names distinct for each network.
When you have done the same for the 2.4 Ghz network and saved the data, navigate to BASIC .... GATEWAY FUNCTION, disable the UPNP and save the settings if you know that you don't need it for applications or gaming. You can set the ports manually, but, you should know that the Network Address Translation (NAT) on the Hitron modems is strict, to the point of being a pain, which in turns drives users towards a standalone router. So, that is more food for thought.
Lastly, if you wanted to change the modem password, navigate to ADMIN .... MANAGEMENT, and change the password. Save the settings.
Reboot the modem by using the ADMIN .... DEVICE RESET .... Reboot function.
Done.
I would strongly recommend changing your passwords for any online accounts you might have accessed thru a wifi connection. This is in a worst case scenario where any previous modem may have been compromised, allowing a hacker to monitor your online activities.
Here is a link to the first post of a series of posts that is essentially the same situation. This came up a couple of days ago:
I just did a wireless speed test and this was my result, my upload is a bit choppy, do you think I suffer from the interference issue?
I don't have a wired computer to test LAN speed, only my wireless MacBook Pro.
Is this interference issue on wired or wireless speeds? I am running in brige mode, so only wired connections to the modem. I do tend to have erratic speeds during a test (see screenshot on DL). Note that my UL is basically perfect, but this isn't always the case, just got lucky on this one I guess, it is more often around 30 with lots of peaks and valleys. I am running .20 so would have the function to identify if there is interference or not (assuming this is not just for the wireless radios in the CODA).
I can't keep up answering all the questions so here's a mega post that will hopefully clarify some concerns.
@gp-se wrote:
nothing needs to be done, it's just the way the test calculates buffer bloat. Speedboost is a GOOD thing.
@gp-se, I fully agree, I simply wanted to understand where the problem was coming from. We still have work to do on the CODA-4582 regarding bufferbloat (and it's on my tracking list) but the problem is different than was is reported by DSLReport speedtest.
@damir wrote:I must say that i do not remember the last time i had this 'slow' download speed.
I had issues with upload recently due to the issues on my node, but that was 'fixed'.
Since i got this .20 firmware, i can't say that i am very happy with down speed especially, upload is so so, far from advertised speed 'of course' (sadly), but download .. on Gigabit, 150-250, the most i saw was 700mbit, but not for long.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/5961800909.png
I can't say .20 is the reason for this, i don't know, but, it started happening since i got it.
@damir, for customers on firmware 2.0.10.20 and getting low speeds, I will check at your local node but I first need to understand if a reboot of the modem temporily fixes the issue. Getting all the area stats takes me quite a while so I want to be sure I'm looking at the right issue.
@Double_K wrote:What is the hardware version on the system info page?
@Double_K, the new modems are still white. The only difference is that there is a black circle beside the MAC address sticker on the modem itself and on the box as well.
@LF1949 wrote:Just switched to the 4582 a couple of days ago. I finally retired my 18 year old SB5100. Most things seem to be working well but I do have one question. If I view connected devices I find an active device with an address of 192.168.0.254 (outside of the DHCP range) with a name of "COUGARMOUNTAIN". What the heck is that?
@LF1949, Cougarmountain is the ARM processor in the modem for the gateway. Not sure why it shows up in your connected device however but nothing to worry about.
@gp-se wrote:What are the symptoms of the interference issue? How would a user know if he is afftected by this.
@gp-se, It is hard for end users to detect this situation but it may be possible in some cases.
In the DOCSIS Status page, there could be missing channel (the channel ID column will completely skip a number). In some cases, there will be some channels with a SNR really low (10 to 15). There are also cases where none of the above shows a problem.
We are running scans on the network to flag affected modem and I'll be in contact with some of you to expedite a replacement.
@Alex4161 wrote:
@RyzenFX @RogersDave
What are the causes of this tuner interference? Is it related to placement, bad splitter, wiring, amps on the line?
thanks
@Alex4161, As stated previously, the interference is generally internal to the modem where 2.4 GHz WiFi can leak into the DOCSIS tuner and affect certain frequencies. This only affects a subset of modems but the newer generation modems (with a black dot) have extra protection against that.
@Double_K wrote:@RyzenFX, thanks!
Did the FCC ID / IC number change on the back of the modem?
How does it have better shielding from interference?
@Double_K, There is no other indication, no difference in FCC ID or hardware revision. It strictly has an extra shield on top of the DOCSIS tuner.
Dave
- last edited on by
RogersZia
Let me test this behavior and if I can reproduce, I will open a bug on this one.
So NAT loopback works on WiFi but not on Wired? That is for the client of for the server (or both)?
Dave
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